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I really just liked the Pacific Organic broths, and I could find them at Whole Foods, Target and some local grocery stores: http://www.pacificfo...ur-foods/broths I really likes the mushroom broth and the French Onion soup: http://www.pacificfo...ll-natural-soup It doesn't have cheese or croutons in it, so it really is more broth like - good for full liquids stage.

To be honest, you may actually be in a great position to fast post-op. You'll be used to smaller amounts of foods and liquids if your dr makes you go through a pre-op liquid diet. I'm not sure how it is with your family, but with mine, the high holiday meals are a little lighter than what we do for Hanukkah. I'd rather be banded and maybe in mushies in time for tuna salad, egg salad, gefilte fish, applesauce, chopped liver, even a little matzo ball Soup, split pea soup w/ flanken (blended), etc. for breaking the fast (I just listed some of my family's traditional items). I honestly think that soon is a great time before getting too close to Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, the holiday season when ppl bring tons of sweets to work, holiday/work parties, and New Years events. Think of how prepared you'll going into this season having already had a month or two of experience with the band. That said, I just thought about how this is my first year I'll be making latkes for Hanukkah since I was banded. I'll probably just make a batch small enough for one meal and no leftovers to help control me from devouring the deliciousness.

I love Mucinex and way too scared to choke down those big pills. With my last cold, I got Robitussin Liquid. It uses the same active ingredient, guaifenesin, as Mucinex. You just have to get past the gross taste of the liquid med.

it's the result of either irritation post abdominal surgery, eating too fast or getting too full related to the Phrenic Nerve. The Phrenic Nerve passes on either side of the neck and down through the diaphragm. It's the nerve responsible for the hiccups we get also. I know that when I get that pain, I've eaten too much. It hurts so bad, I take note to try not to do that again!

I think people naturally seek out support or those who will listen when things are bad, depressing or not going as they expect. That may be one reason why there are more of those posts here than happy stories. This is one reason I check in on here for a little bit then may go silent for a few weeks. It stinks seeing so much negativity.

I'm going through it right now and it sucks! This is the first month since I got banded that I experienced this. However, the replies on here totally gave me perspective. Before the band this phase would have been an entire pint of Ben and Jerrys or a whole box of triscuits with cheese. I guess a handful of tortilla chips and a little extra trail mix for the salt love is much better than where I was.

Keep yourself hydrated. It may be thrush, but it may just be bacteria and either can be aggravated by dehydrationg. Be sure to brush your tongue when brushing your teeth. Using a tongue scraper can help today. You can get one at any oral care aisle at a grocery store or Target/Walmart. Warm salt water rinses can help too.

I don't think anyone has mentioned this, but when you get seriously stuck you may want to go on full liquids for the rest of the day and the next. The stuck episode can upset your stomach and pouch, and there can be some swelling. So, you really may not have a problem with bagels, but eating one after getting stuck on steak might have been the issue. I'm lucky that no foods are off my list, but if I wait until I'm too hungry and eat too fast, or don't chew well, then I get stuck. Sipping room temp pineapple juice or chewing papaya enzyme works well for me. I keep the papaya in my purse, at home in the kitchen and in my desk at work. Hope you start feeling better!

I 2nd Chipotle. I get the burrito bowl, no rice (sometimes get a weird look when I say that, black Beans, lettuce, and carnita (shredded pork). Sometimes I get guac on the side. Also, I bring a 1/4 cup of nonfat plain greek yogurt to use as sour cream. It totally works as a substitute for sour cream. The bowl is two meals for me and wonderful. Longhorn Steakhouse has an amazing Salmon with grilled veggies, and I've been able to get the lunch size portion for dinner. A lot of times I just look for a great spinach salad where I can add chicken or salmon to it and ask for dressing on the side. I love places that have smaller sizes of their salads too.

I'm going on a cruise in late Sept (Oasis of the Seas) and already talked to my doctor about this, and she said she will not do a fill 2 weeks before I go on the cruise. She doesn't want me stuck in the ocean or in another country if I should have problems. I don't know how I'll react to the massive amounts of food on the ship. I have great restriction right now and am able to eat anything, just in much smaller portions. I have a feeling I'll be just fine and will end up trying a few things and feeling satisfied with the one or two bites of treat items. Actually, I'm really looking forward to the fish dishes on the ship. They are wonderful. My breakfast will most likely be eggs with some lox, or a well toasted 1/2 a bagel with the inside scooped out, a little cream cheese, lox, tomato and onion. Yummy! As far as drinking, I'm not a big drinker but enjoy a mojito before dinner and sometimes a Baileys on ice in the evening. I'll still do this knowing that I'm now a cheaper date than before since I have very little in my stomach to buffer the drinks. We did already book dinner at Chops Grille (Royal Caribbean); their steak is amazing. I'll get the 6oz filet and just eat half. My husband will devour the rest.

I'll give a different perspective others haven't as to why it sucks. First of all, the racks being so close together for Plus and Maternity at Target are a pain in the rear, as people are lazy and shove stuff wherever when they are done with it. So you may find something cute and find out it's a maternity shirt, not plus. Secondly, for those of us who are apple shaped (carry our weight around on middle), we shop for clothes and often times have to stay away from certain styles because they make us look pregnant. Or, someone has actually asked us how far along we are, and we're not pregnant! This is one reason one should never ask a woman how far along they are unless you see them crowning Lastly, I'm going to be very honest here, I'm sure I'm not the only one who in a fit of sadness and desperation just thought, "You know what? F this. I can't find anything to wear. I'm just going to buy maternity pants with the full panel because nothing else looks good or fits." I'm serious. Having Plus next to Maternity just hits all of these nerves. However, I can look at it from a strategic standpoint of the store. They are just placing specialty sizes together. If Target had a Tall section, it would be next to Plus and Maternity too. It's not malicious on their part, just annoying. Stores like Macys and Dillards placing Plus size upstairs just sucks. The upper floors of department stores are warmer! Like I need to sweat more than I already do going shopping, trying on clothes and in the 100 degree Kansas City summer.

I weigh daily and find comfort and control in seeing it every morning. I also agree that it gives me insight in how my body changes water-wise throughout my cycle. I do not count lbs lost until I get two consecutive days at that weight, then I consider it my new weight.

I often times just order from the sides menu. Since you don't like eggs, maybe a cup of fruit, side of bacon and an english muffin. I eat half of the muffin and ask that it's well toasted.

I went to a Japanese Steakhouse about 2 months post op and walked in with a plan: Eat the soup, eat half the salad, eat half the protein (I did teriyaki chicken), eat 1/3 of the veggies. Skip the rice and noodles. I asked for a box right away and boxed up the rice and noodles for my husband and daughter to enjoy for lunch the next day.

Maybe when your husband gets the surgery, follow his diet plan along with him as if you had the surgery too. Please don't restrict yourself for too long. Long term your body may think you're starving and then hold on to every pound you have. If you stall, try adding more protein to boost the lean calories. Hang in there. I do appreciate your doctor's honesty. It's all about your safety and him being comfortable during the surgery. I know it's a rough blow and sucks, but I'm sure you can dust yourself off and keep pushing forward!!

How about taking an antihistamine 30mins before sex? The antihistamine will dry up mucus membranes and does not discriminate if the mucus membrane is your lungs for asthma, nose for allergies or cervical mucus. I know this because I had to go off my daily antihistamine while going through fertility treatments, as it was drying up my cervical mucus and not making a happy environment during our IUIs. Good luck!

I'm sure the Topic Starter would appreciate if the morality and religious lessons were kept to yourself. Especially, since this this thread is not located under the Religion section of this forum. If the OP was looking for spiritual advice or guidance, I believe she'd post in that part of the board. Let me also point out that you: 1. Judge 2. Suggest suicide, "Why don't you just throw yourself under a bus?" 3. Let's be really blunt here. If we're made in G-d's image, and you seem to want everyone to know how perfectly Christian you are, isn't against G-d's will to alter the body? You know, with a LapBand. Just saying Glass houses are shaky and super hot in the summer. It appears your "support" is shattered and melting. Move along, nothing to see here. Please quit picking on the OP.

Welcome to your new way of burping! I think it's quite common that burping is now replaced with reflex hiccups caused by the phrenic nerve and the diaphragm. I know when I get my first hiccup that I'm about 2 bites away from being full. For me, the hiccups can come out of nowhere and can be loud. I just explain to people close to me that it's my new way of burping, and I can't control it. Think of the anatomy of a burp... rumbling air forced from the bottom of the stomach up the esophagus to make the noise. There's now a stopgap between the stomach and your esophagus, so the "flow" has been interrupted. I just be mindful about eating slowly and sip when I drink - not gulp.

After my surgery I used the Thermacare Heating Pads. I used the shoulder/back version, and it adheres right to the skin and stays warm for 8 hours. For me, it was much better than reheating a heating pad over and over. Plus it gave me continuous heat all night long while sleeping. The pain will go away - hang in there!!!

I've started preferring items that are either full fat with real sugar, agave or stevia rather than chemically altered items that often turn out to be higher in carbs. For Protein, I go right for cottage cheese, ricotta, hummus, falafel and greek yogurts. Whole Foods has become a lot more affordable to do my weekly shopping, and their produce is divine. Definitely find a nutritionist that's more like-minded. There has been more and more research on artificial sweeteners having the opposite intended affect on people using them. When the body tastes something sweet, it expects the calories that come with that sweet taste. Since the calories don't arrive from artificial sweeteners, our bodies will seek the calories elsewhere... often binging on sweets. That's bad for us since most sweets are sliders. I'd rather have the 1 TB of raw sugar in my coffee than something made in a factory. I think there's something to be said about staying closer to nature and the food's original form regardless of the years being told full fat items are bad bad bad. Seems to be working so far!

I had a stage when I was in the mushy phase and back to work, which is packed with office provided Snacks, that I actually was hit face first with the reality that I'm addicted to food. I had this stage for about a week where I cried over realizing the addiction and trying to train myself on the difference between real hunger and head hunger. I still deal with the "OMG that smells/looks great, I must have it" feelings. I wrote a letter to the office snacks telling them we had to break up. The letter was pretty vulgar (e.g. - F U office Cheetos for giving me back fat, hahah). I seriously did that and then threw the letter away, and I now stay away from the office goodies. Another thing I did was imagine all of the dirty birdies in this world who don't wash their hands after the restroom, and that their hot mess gets on the snack packaging when they rummage through the snack basket Awesome diversion technique. I think this stage is the hardest when realized when you're still on mushies and would give anything to bite into something and chew - not just gum at food. Great list and discussion starter OP!!

Someone mentioned doing liquids for a few days then mushies. I totally second this. Treat the episode as if you got a fill and allow you digestive system calm down. I also think the meat tenderizer was a good idea if you got stuck with meat. I never though of that. But, wow, choking some of that down must have sucked Another suggestion is to try some pineapple juice. I've used the papaya enzyme and pineapple juice, and they both work nicely for me. Sounds like you've been doing great for two years. Don't get too discouraged by this episode! If you go another day feeling crappy, I do think you should call you dr. The office is there to support you too. Re that poster. Many of her posts are rude, vitriolic and passive aggressive typed diarrhea with little to contribute. I tend to steer clear of any threads where she contributes only because I don't want to reward that behavior. However, that's unfortunate for those who start that thread

Bug: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/patient/edit/ is redirecting to http://www.lapbandtalk.com/patient/search/ and not allowing me to edit my Patient Profile.

Two words: Sports Bra. I love the Champion sports bras at Target and can wear the XXL one, and I'm a 40DDD now. I was a 42DDD and did fine with them at that size too. I have an incision right at my bra line. It's a very small incision, and it's the cut made to use the retractor to hold back the liver. I don't know that I'd recommend a shelf bra camisole only because those tend to be pretty skin tight around the torso, which can be uncomfortable when you body still had the surgery gas in it and the incisions on the abdomen.

This might give you a laugh: http://www.youparklikeanasshole.com/gallery2/index.php. When I see idiot parking jobs I always want to put a You Park Like an ******* sign on their windshield. Maybe one day Darwinism will take care of the smoking gas station lady and hopefully without anyone else near her. Hope you're having a better day today!